The production of saddle trees of the conventional type which are made either of wood and spring steel bands or of a plastic material is relatively costly. Saddle trees which are made of wood and spring steel bands require a considerable amount of manual work as well as a maintenance of supplies for a large number of various parts in several different lengths and widths depending on the size of the saddle to be produced for the assembly of the saddle trees. For saddle trees made of plastic material only parts for the various sizes are needed as manual work is almost not needed; however, this type of saddle tree demands a considerable amount of technical resources which is caused by the various sizes of the jet molds which are required for making differently sized saddle trees. Saddles made of plastic material also have some other disadvantages depending on the material used which result from the fact that the saddle tree must be of a different thickness which has a disadvantageous effect especially on the weight of the saddle tree.
The object of the invention is to provide a saddle tree which can be manufactured as economically as possible so that apparatuses requiring only little expenditure are necessary for manufacturing saddle trees in the various sizes.
According to the present invention, the object is solved in that the saddle tree of a chosen type is formed in two parts in such a way that on the cantle in its rear portion is mounted and secured thereon a cantle plate defining the size of the cantle with respect to the length and/or width and that the surface of said cantle plate smoothly and continuously passes into the surface of the part of the cantle which is not covered by the cantle plate.
This permits the production of a saddle tree having a uniform and optimum size which requires a minimum of expenditure of apparatuses so that in respect of the necessary modifications in order to give the saddle tree the desired size, i.e. the desired length and width, it is only necessary to mount a cantle plate which is fixed in a relatively simple manner requiring only little expenditure also with respect to its production.
In a saddle tree consisting of plastic material, the cantle e.g. has a flat recess or mold on its surface in the vicinity of the cantle plate which recess or mold the cantle plate of the desired size with its congruent bottom surface engages. It is particularly advantageous if the cantle plate consists of a plastic material having a lower specific weight with respect to the remaining saddle tree, e.g. polyurethane foam or the like. The fastening of the cantle plate onto the cantle can be effected by means of screws or adhesives. It is possible also to make the cantle plate of a conventional saddle tree consisting of either wood and spring steel or also of a plastic material in such a manner that the cantle plate has a hollow spaced in its bottom surface into which the cantle projects with its rear portion, so as to cause the rear portion of the cantle with its upper and lower surfaces to closely lie to the inner walls of the hollow space of the cantle plate and to firmly connect the cantle with the inner walls, e.g. by adhesion or by means of screws, if necessary.
It is also particularly advantageous to have a stop on the cantle of the saddle tree abut the rear, downwardly directed portion of the cantle plate by which the position of the mounted cantle plate is exactly defined. The drawings show the subject matter of the invention more clearly by means of a preferred embodiment.